The Third Annual Meeting of Dumbledore's Army
by AHighAndLonesomeSound
Summary: An excerpt from Rose Weasley's edited memoranda of the post-Hogwarts meetings of Dumbledore's Army. One-shot. Written for Cheeky Slytherin Lass' Quotes For All Occasions Challenge, my quote was the Emerson one I used as an epigraph.


**An excerpt from **_**The Memoranda of the Annual Meetings of Dumbledore's Army**_** ed. Rose Weasley (London, 2047)**

_It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them._

Ralph Waldo Emerson

(from the Preface):

…_The annual meetings of Dumbledore's Army began almost by accident. The first one was held in The Burrow, my grandparents' house. The second and third were held in the fabled Room of Requirement in Hogwarts itself, and from then on they were held in the Leaky Cauldron, which had just been taken over by DA member Hannah Abbott. The first meeting was held on the morning of May 2 1999, as a way for the DA members to steel themselves before the official Victory Day remembrance ceremony that afternoon. My parents, uncles and aunts had gathered at The Burrow to await news of my Aunt Fleur, who had gone into labour with her first child. The DA still had their enchanted galleons to use as a means of communication, and more and more members began dropping in to check for news of Fleur and take a breather away from the thronged masses of people gathering across wizarding Britain to celebrate. Those DA members who were still in Hogwarts, such as my Aunt Ginny and her friend Luna Lovegood (now the noted Magizoologist Luna Scamander), demanded permission from the faculty to Floo in to The Burrow on the grounds that the school was agreeing to expose them to the public later in the day, so they should get the day off… _

…_DA meetings soon took on a set pattern. First there would be a brief formal meeting, with minutes taken. This was my mother's idea, and she insisted over my father's (and my Uncle Harry's) objections that it be put in place "as a way of getting any urgent business or major news out of the way before someone opens a bottle of Firewhiskey"…_

…_as time went by, the meetings became an important part of the social calendar for DA members (never 'former DA members': the leadership made a decision to never dissolve the organisation in case it should be needed in the future. I suppose when one lives through a devastating war it can be hard to believe that such a conflict will never happen again). They liked the official ceremony, with a chance to honour their fallen friends and family members, but it was formal and stuffy and in the public eye. The DA meetings became a chance to unwind and reconnect with old friends before stepping out into the media spotlight, and in the period between 2010-2025 its importance increased, as this was a time when several DA members were out of the country for large chunks of the year, travelling the world before they settled down to sober adult life, but they would always come home for 'the gathering', as they called it…_

**From the minutes of the third annual meeting of Dumbledore's Army (2 May 2001)**

**By Dennis Creevey (Secretary)**

**Hermione Granger** (Logistics Officer) opened with some general remarks about the importance of retaining the strong ties of friendship that bound us all together. Her fiancé, **Ron Weasley** (Vice-President in charge of destroying Horcruxes), interrupted her by handing her a Butterbeer and pointing out that we all _were_ friends, or why else would we be here? At this point, **Harry Potter** (President) hastily opened the meeting to the floor.

**Oliver Wood** (Honorary Life Member) announced that he was signing a new contract at Puddlemere United, although he asked that the news be kept quiet until after the official announcement. **George Weasley** (Vice-President: Pranking Division) offered his hearty congratulations and handed Oliver a biscuit. Oliver ate it and promptly turned into a canary. The entire membership laughed, which just goes to show that some jokes never get old.

The question of attire for the official ceremony was put to the floor for the third year in a row. Harry and **Dean Thomas** (Member) insisted on wearing Muggle clothes again as a mark of respect for Voldemort's Muggle victims and as a way of distancing the DA from the old social order. They were seconded by **Cho Chang** (Member) and Ron, the latter saying that he "never wanted to wear dress robes again after bloody fourth year". The motion was formally proposed by **Seamus Finnegan** (Demolitions Officer) and passed unanimously.

**Luna Lovegood** (Press Officer) raised the question of the annual official press release, which needed to be signed off on by the entire committee. With that business out of the way, **Ginny Weasley** (Vice-President in charge of offensive operations) proposed to adjourn to the bar, and was seconded by **Neville Longbottom** (Commander: Guerrilla Division).

…_although my mother has never given me a straight answer when I ask her, both my father and my Uncle Harry claim that the gatherings were moved from the Room of Requirement to the Leaky Cauldron after an incident during the third annual meeting that began when my Uncle George discovered that a bar in a magical room designed to fulfil the occupants' every need contained limitless amounts of alcohol, and ended with my mother dancing on a table. I somehow doubt that the truth of this anecdote will ever be known by anyone outside the DA…_


End file.
